Azed 2292

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This puzzle seems to have a higher-than-usual proportion of unfamiliar words, in both answers and wordplay, which probably explains why I found it quite hard. But soundly clued as always, and satisfying to finish. Thanks to Azed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. BOTCH Swelling on the skin, constant inside as well (5)
C in BOTH – a familiar word, but the “swelling” sense was new to me
5. MEDACCA College in university tailed and brought back Japanese fish (7)
C in reverse of ACADEM[Y]
11. ALALAGMOS One long imprisoned in doomed fort’s war cry of old (9)
A LAG in ALAMO’S – the preamble says that this “appears in earlier editions”; as I don’t have the latest edition I can’t verify that it doesn’t appear in that, but it is in the 11th Edition (2008)
12. BABISM Persian sect twice seen to be wrapped in hoax (6)
BIS in BAM
14. PRE-WAR Antebellum line no longer included in standard (6)
REW (Spenserian form of “row” = line) in PAR
16. ILIA Bones of a child extracted from fluid (4)
FILIAL (of a child) less FL
17. SULCI Caulis one’s taken from ploughed furrows (5)
CAULIS* less A
18. TRACERY Class kept in have a go at architectural ornamentation (7)
RACE in TRY
19. STAR-SHAPED Asteroid disintegrating passed Earth, energy lost (10)
(PASSED EARTH)* less (one) E – using “asteroid” in its literal sense of “like a star”
22. SCHECHITAH The hachis prepared around start of Chanukah – it’s kosher (10)
C in (THE HACHIS)*
24. BIT-PART Gripped? Reverse of gripped in that minor role (7)
Reverse of RAPT (gripped) in (gripped by) BIT (another definition of “gripped”)
26. ABAYA Outer garment, often black? This is a reddish-brown one (5)
A BAY + A
27. UNIX Wife’s clothing reverse of fashionable, being OS? (4)
Reverse of IN in UX, OS = Operating System, of which Unix is an example
29. MENAGE Household area retained by old couple (6)
A in MENGE (archaic word for “to unite”)
30. COOMBE Deep (but short) depression – soothing sound by doctor with start of each (6)
COO + MB + E[ach]
31. FUSTILUGS Bother about glut I neglected? (9)
(GLUT I)* in FUSS &lit , with the “I” referring to a “gross overgrown person”
32. OROPESA Lines in middle of boat float like fish (8)
ROPES in [b]OA[t] – it’s a fish-shape float used in minesweeping
33. DOZES After party, enthusiasm cut short drops off (5)
DO + ZES[T]
Down
1. BABASSU Clerk holding chump in palm (7)
ASS in BABU
2. TABULA Recognized restraint shown on alternate parts of altar frontal (6)
TABU + [a]L[t]A[r]
3. CLIP Cut out embrace (4)
Double definition
4. HASHISH Mince is hot in pot (7)
HASH IS H
6. EMPHRACTIC No sweat – effect of that disposal of crime patch (10)
(CRIME PATCH)* – it’s something that blocks the pores, so its effect might be “no sweat”
7. DORSA Backs advance after run cutting turf up (5)
R in reverse of SOD + A[dvance]
8. COWLED One of herd given guidance, like a monk? (6)
COW LED
9. CHAIR DAYS Church tune preceding bewilderment, we hear, in bard’s later life (9, 2 words)
CH + AIR + homophone of “daze” – this is given as a single word in my edition of Chambers. It comes 2nd part of Henry VI
10. ABRAY Wake for poet, something providing uplift before day’s ending (5)
A BRA + [da]Y – another Spenserian word
13. MOTHERLESS Adamic, shelters shivering after a while? (10)
MO + SHELTERS*
15. OUTLINEAR Like a profile of unlit fuzzy part of head (9)
O[f] + UNLIT* + EAR – meaning “like an outline”
20. PHACOID Like lentils? Poach roughly with fish (7)
POACH* + ID
21. CHAPESS Woman, one with power where men are moved around? (7)
A + P “in CHESS” (where men are moved around)
22. STINKO Certainly fool’s given a lift, being squiffy (6)
Reverse of OK NIT’S
23. TAMMUZ Ancient deity, something in Somerset that’s set up? (6)
Reverse of ZUMMAT – supposed Somerset version of “something”
24. BUMBO Cocktail creating nasty smell after spree (5)
BUM + BO
25. ARGUE Prove fit, taking in run (5)
r in AGUE
28. KOLO Fine skipping folk dancing love … such music? (4)
FOLK* less F + O – a Serbian dance or its music

4 comments on “Azed 2292”

  1. Definitely a step up in difficulty from recent plain Azed’s. Seem to remember working from the RHS across…

  2. Thank you, John. I have one minor point regarding ‘soundly clued as always’. (F)ILIA(L) is surely ‘of a child’ with ‘fluid’ removed from that, the reverse of ‘of a child extracted from fluid.’

    ALALAGMOS contains only 3 a’s, not the four in your parsing, so I take ‘One long imprisoned’ as ‘lag’ and not ‘a lag.’

  3. ALALAGMOS was one of the words mistakenly removed from the 14th edition, having been ‘lowlighted’ in the 13th.

  4. I never did manage to parse 16 across, though the answer was obvious enough. Now it’s been explained I agree with Bob Sharkey that the extraction’s the wrong way round. Never mind, even Homer nods!

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